Win and you're in

Looks like Jonas Gustavsson has a date with the Detroit Red Wings Saturday night.

After recording his second career NHL shutout Thursday night when the Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the visiting Winnipeg Jets, The Monster will likely get the call to face the always-dangerous Red Wings at the Air Canada Centre. That's if coach Ron Wilson sticks to his guns. Wilson avowed Wednesday he was going to with whichever goalie is winning and at the moment that is the 27-year-old Swede.

"He was solid; very professional tonight," Wilson said. "He didn't give up very many rebounds; especially in situations where the shots were coming from the point. I think he did a really good job of handling the pucks when he needed to and when we were running around a little bit in the last four or five minutes of the second period he made some easy save and froze the puck for us."

As much as the Leafs tried to pass off inexperienced James Reimer as a bona fide No. 1 NHL goalie at the start of the year, the reality is the team has two relatively untested stoppers so it is no surprise at this stage of the year there is a competition for the crease. Reimer now has to compete to regain his No. 1 status.

The Leafs bent over backwards to get Reimer going after he returned from six weeks off with a concussion, but while his play has been good, the results have not. Reimer will certainly get his chance at some point to win back the crease, but for now the Leafs need to go with the hot hand and that happens to be The Monster.

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Gustavsson got the start Tuesday night at home against the Tampa Bay Lightning and backstopped a 7-3 win after the Leafs dropped a rather self-destructive 3-2 decision to the Jets in Winnipeg on New Year's Eve. In that game Toronto surrendered two power play goals and another just seconds after a penalty had expired.

Gustavsson's only other NHL shutout came Dec. 19, 2009 on a night when he returned from missing eight games because of minor heart surgery and blanked the Boston Bruins 2-0. He is a team-first kind of guy, so it was no surprise when he deflected praise of his whitewash of the Jets away from himself.

"Of course, it's always fun to have a shutout," Gustavsson said. "Then you can't complain about any goals (against). But, the win is more important. It's just a bonus to get a shutout, too."

At one point in the third period, with the Jets pressing, Gustavsson lost his trapper. Bare-handed, he continued to guard the net, praying he didn't have to try to stop a puck with his hand.

"I didn't really know what to do," Gustavsson said. "I mean, I don't know the rules so I yelled at the ref, but I guess they can only blow the whistle if you lose your mask. I hoped the Jets didn't see that I didn't have a glove because then they would shoot at it."

For goalies, recording a shutout is the ultimate. It is the equivalent of a hat trick for goal-scorers. As the clock ticks down late in the game, you'd have to think they are cognizant of the situation. Tic…tic…tic… Gustavsson certainly was, however, he resisted the temptation to check the time remaining.

"To be honest, I tried to stay out of that," Gustavsson said. "I tried to not look at the clock because if you do it's hard to keep your focus on the game. I think in the last 10 minutes I didn't look at the clock once. It was kind of nice when they announced there was one minute left."

Gustavsson is in his third year with the Leafs and is still trying to establish himself as an NHLer. One teammate, defenceman Carl Gunnarsson, had the opportunity to play against him in Sweden and also with Gustavsson at the 2009 World Championship when Sweden won the bronze medal.

"The season before he came over here he dominated the regular season and the playoffs in Sweden," Gunnarsson said. "I knew there was no other way for him to go except the NHL. He dominated the World Championship. We won the bronze medal against Ron (Wilson) and the U.S. and I didn't see him going any other way except to the NHL. Tonight it was nice for him to get a shutout."

This is really a golden opportunity for Gustavsson. If Wilson holds true to his word about going with the hot hand, and The Monster keeps winning, he could finally emerge as the No. 1 goalie on a team desperate to make the playoffs.

"I don't think so much about stuff like that," Gustavsson said. "I felt pretty good at the start of the year. I think I lost my first couple of games, but then I got a win. Since then I've had more wins than losses, even though my (personal stats) weren't very good. When I get the chance I try to make the most of it; go out and play and have fun and try to get two points. If you do that and you play good, then the chances are you are going to play. But that's not news; that's the way it has always been. Even if you are not the starting goalie, if you play well you are going to get your chance to play and that's good."

Gustavsson has earned the opportunity to start against Detroit Saturday night.

Veteran hockey columnist Mike Brophy will cover the Toronto Maple Leafs for sportsnet.ca for the 2011/12 season.